entrance fee

[Lou]

The sun is shinning, the town is busy, people are on the seafront and beach - just driven past Dreamland and its empty (not for the first time). Such a shame that people are not being encouraged to just walk around and see the new attractions, this is Dreamlands chance and i hope its not wasted.

[Killa]

yes seem almost strangely deliberate that entry to the park is so complicated and expensive

and to think there is a major major funfair thrill ride in there that this week ever year (before ayers got it) was drawing more crowds than any other machine on newcastles town moor fair (yes we are talking top buzz 2)...and its stuck in a desolate dreamland. not the right kind of machine for a supposed family fun park i might add...

[dave771]

This needs to be said and I think other members may have come to the same conclusion, it does appear that the way the park is being run this year is doing everything possible to prove that it is not viable, there have been many offers of free publicity for the park that have been refused, have been at least two TV crews wiling to do a story on the parks re opening but have been refused by the current operator due to apparently not being able to come to an agreement regarding fees, if someone is going to advertise your business across the county I wouldnt be requesting large amounts of money from them! and of course the entrance fee which is very noticably causing a big difference to visitor numbers this season so far!

Was only a couple of years ago that a Tory councillor was in talks with Mr Godden doing everything possible to save the Scenic and keep it running but we all know what really happened there so you decide what you think is going on at the park this year,

Dave

[uvegotmale2000]

i knew the entrance charge would be trouble.i doubt this is harry ayers doing.jimmy godden has set rules which i suppose he has to follow,ie no publicity,etc...

jimmy godden doesnt care if no-one turns up,he wants the park to fail so he gets his way to get rid of dreamland

the entrance fee should be scrapped,but with jimmy godden with the rope around harry ayers and pulling it tight,who knows where its gonna go

[gemini]

i went down to margat today,
we parked in the car park that just behind dreamland, when we asked the car park attent what time dreamland opens for the rides, he said that its only open at the weakends at the momnet, i was dissapointed, its a shame because today it would have had a fair bit of trade as it was such a nice warm day and there were loads of people [/b]

[Lou]

Well i'm really sorry you went to dreamland and it was shut!!!!!This is definatly not on. I am totally disilliusioned....What is going on!!!!!!!

[uvegotmale2000]

i dont expect its viable to open on weekdays espcially when the kids are at school etc.it will be open once the school days are here

[dave771]

So why has he advertised the park as being open every day? you cant have a good day every day and causes great disapointment for people who have sometimes travelled a fair distance for the park to find it closed,

[Bob]

The sun is shinning, the town is busy, people are on the seafront and beach - just driven past Dreamland and its empty (not for the first time). Such a shame that people are not being encouraged to just walk around and see the new attractions, this is Dreamlands chance and i hope its not wasted.

I have to agree. Having a high entrance fee for what is in reality a small fairground will just stop people going in and thats whats happening. If entrace was free they would get several times the number of visitors. It will also improve the atmosphere in Dreamland. A fairground needs crowds of people there is nothing worse then wandering around an empty one its not the same.

Somehow I get the impression that they want Dreamland to fail.

[ricardobugsy]

WHAT!!! It is only open at weekends! This is disgraceful.
The entry system IS too complicated.
You cannot get a good casual trade to keep business ticking over if you have to pay a tenner minimum.
The public are just being messed about.
Dreamland is a 260 mile round trip from where I live. I would be livid to turn up and find it shut!

A couple of months ago I drafted a post about a conspiracy theory that there was an attempt to bring a whole load of great new rides and then give the public such a raw deal so that to give the appearance to TDC
in 2006 that Dreamland is not viable as an amusement park even when
regenerated with new rides and attractions.

I did not post it at the time, as I thought I was just being paranoid.
Now I am not so sure.......

[uvegotmale2000]

dreamland is open daily from the 6 weeks holidays

[TpMatt_89]

Is there a precise date?

[uvegotmale2000]

i dont understand why people get annoyed with dreamland not being open on weekdays.remember majority of people are at work and all children are at school.whats the point of opening for a handful of people.when at this moment in time the weekends are more busier.once the kids 6 weeks holidays are here then u will see dreamland opening daily

[Sarah]

I can understand why people get annoyed. It's all about being committed, opening up even on potentially quiet days, building up trade and - crucially - goodwill around the town. It's also about keeping your promises; if you've advertised that you will be open 7 days a week, then that's what you do, unless you aren't bothered about disappointing people, negative word of mouth etc. We're open 7 days a week at the Grotto and have visitors every day - not everyone's at work, people do still take holidays in Margate!

Sarah

[Bob]

i dont understand why people get annoyed with dreamland not being open on weekdays.remember majority of people are at work and all children are at school.whats the point of opening for a handful of people.when at this moment in time the weekends are more busier.once the kids 6 weeks holidays are here then u will see dreamland opening daily

Well if it states its open 7 days a week then it should. For Dreamland to be viavle it needs to attract people from a wide area. If people travel say 70 miles to get there and find everything closed then they will not return.

Margate needs considerably investment to revive itself as a tourist town. The Town Centre and Seafront is run down, many of the hotels are run down and it gives an impression of a town that the locals do not care about.

I think a considerable amount of the blame must fall on the local councill. It lacks any real plan or vision and will go along with what is in amongst councils at the moment which is Shopping Centres and Arts Centres.

Dreamland and the immediate seafront could be turned into a modern tourist facility but it needs investment not just patching up outdated and rundown facilities.

Themeparks have proved that with the righ facilties & attractions people will visit. There in no reason why something similar should not work on the coast which has the added advantage of the beach & Seafront.
Even minor things can let a resort down. Things such as deckchairs most seem to hire out the same ones they were using 30 years ago. Sun Loungers might be more appropriate in this day and age.